A Q&A With a Pirate Musician Who Leads the Bilge Pumps Band
We periodically touch base with Craig Lutke, aka Maroon the Shantyman, about his music with the band, The Bilge Pumps. Since the band just released its ninth album, Greatest Hits Vols. I-Vil, it seemed a good time to catch up and learn about their pirate music influences, where they play, why sea shanties are “really old cover music,” how sick they get of pirate-speak, and how onstage life is treating them. Lutke made us laugh more than once in this interview:
What was the inspiration to start a pirate band?
The Bilge Pumps started in the summer of 1999 at a fantasy faire in Texas. The band formed using remnants of a Scottish highland games troupe that would occasionally break into Scottish versions of rock songs. The impetus for pirates came from days of strolling the lanes between shows and singing to help fill the atmosphere of the festival. Sea shanties were the easiest songs to do as they are call and response and quick to pick up. That gave me the idea of starting up a pirate band. Our first paid gig was at Mardi Gras Galveston in 2000 opening for the likes of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Temptations. Quite a start. We had a two-hour set and only about 90 minutes worth of music, so much joke and storytelling was required.
Is there other music that influenced or continues to influence you?
In terms of Celtic/Folk/Nautical music, we looked up to some of the pioneers in our genre in the early days like the Jolly Rogers and the Pyrates Royale. In recent years, I have enjoyed the music of Pat Razket, a pirate band out of Sweden.
Do you sing traditional sea shanties and/or take inspiration from them?
We do sing traditional sea shanties (we like to call them really old cover songs). However, we will often skew the lyrics to make them more piratical or add our comedy styling. That's not really any different than what shantymen would do throughout the years. Many of the lyrics to sea shanties today that people consider "traditional" were just made up by a band for a recording in the 50’s or put down in a book for the first time by a collector who heard them from an old sailor.
How many band members are there?
We currently have seven band members: Craig Lutke (Maroon the Shantyman), Christopher Dallion (Sharbait Simon the Scapegoat), Ted Dossey (John Crow the Cook), Nathan Campbell (Splice the Rigger), Mary Dossey (Fanny the Flagmaker), Marj Troyer (Ruby Pearl the Quartermaster), and Trae Hamilton (Black Pearl the Cannoneer). However, we have had 23 band members over the band’s lifespan. We think we could still take them in a West Side Story sing-off showdown, though.
Do you give your real names or do you have pirate names?
When we're on stage or at an event, we use our pirate names as that's what most people know us by. We use our real name in other situations unless someone isn't responding to their real name, then we yell their pirate name to get their attention. Works every time.
Are any of you sailors?
We don't have any real sailors (as in using sailboats) in the band although a couple of us served in the Navy in the past. I spent a brief amount of time as a sail trainee on the Tall Ship Rose, so I have just enough tall ship knowledge to annoy the other band members.
Can you give us an idea of your audience demographics?
Like most bands, our audience tends to age with us. However, we have quite a few Gen Z fans that grew up hearing us because of their parents… sometimes starting in the womb. While we don’t really know the money our audience makes, we can tell you they have some expendable income because they spend lots of money on costumes and tend to be drinkers.
Can you name a few of your songs/ albums you’re particularly proud of?
While I can’t speak for the rest of the band’s preferences, I can say that my two favorite albums are our current album, “Greatest Hits Vols. I-VII” and our third album “Brigands with Big’uns”. “Greatest Hits Vols. I-VII” because it has a musicality that our others did not have due to the skills of our current lineup. “Brigands with Big’uns” because it was the first live album we did and our idiocy between songs was well documented.
I see you’re playing at a Renaissance and Scottish festival—do you do others?
We have played from California to Florida on everything from giant stages (both headlining or opening for the likes of the Temptations, 3 Dog Night, and Deep Purple) to fun-filled music festivals and renaissance faires where the audiences get what a sea shanty band is about; to middle-of-the-night shows at nudist colonies in the hills outside of Los Angeles. Though we hope the days of the latter types are behind us.
How many live performances do you do per year?
It varies depending upon our availability and demand for us. Many of the venues at which we used to perform have been closed, which can make things difficult. We tend to perform about 15-25 days per year. Since most of our appearances are at festivals, those are full days of shows.
Do you ever get tired of saying ARRRGHH or other pirate speak?
We made a decision early on in the band to only speak in normal voices on stage instead of using the exaggerated West County English accent made famous by Robert Newton in Treasure Island. It makes for the improv comedy on stage to flow more freely. I used to get pestered by co-workers around Talk Like a Pirate Day every year about why I don’t speak with a pirate accent that day. I simply told them that I am a pirate, therefore however I speak is how a pirate speaks. That would usually quiet them.
Tell us about your new album!
“Greatest Hits Vols. I-VIl” is the band's ninth (and latest) album and the spiritual sequel of our “Greatest Hits Vol. VIII” album released 25 years ago. The album contains a mix of original music, traditional music, and cover songs. Perfect for a day of swinging on the hammock below decks and sipping rum from a barrel. This album also features a release on vinyl for the first time in the band's existence. It is not only our first vinyl record, but likely the first pirate music album ever released in vinyl. It is also available in CD and digital download. We have released two music videos to support the album with two more in the works. All the details about the album can be found here: thebilgepumps.com/media.cgi
Is there anywhere other than your website where SpinSheet readers can read about you?
We are active on Facebook facebook.com/thebilgepumps on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@maroonshantyman and on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/ibidis
If you were invited to sing here on the Chesapeake for a pirate or ship festival, would you come?
But of course! We love a good pirate or tall ship festival. This year even features the Sail 250 voyages of tall ships up the coast from New Orleans to New York with a nice stopover in Baltimore (and Norfolk!). It will even feature the tall ship Elissa, the tall ship of Texas on which we have spent many hours, performed many shows, and filmed many music videos.
Anything else SpinSheet readers should know?
We encourage all your readers to support independent music wherever you can. In today’s streaming age, listening to independent artists on Spotify or Pandora or other streaming platforms is not really supporting them as the artists only will receive $0.0019 per steam. That means it takes over 500 steams for a band to make a dollar on a song. That’s a decent revenue stream for someone with the bandwidth of a Taylor Swift, but not much for independent musicians. So, if you really enjoy an artist, buy their music online instead of only streaming. Even better, get something from their merch table at a show or buy the music directly from the band’s site via CD, vinyl, flash drive, or digitally. It makes a huge difference to the artists that put their time and effort into bringing their shows to you. (Steps off soapbox) We have enjoyed putting on shows for audiences for 27 years and look forward to many more to come.
We at SpinSheet think the Bilge Pumps should be at the Blackbeard Pirate Festival in Hampton and Pirates and Wenches Weekend in Rock Hall. What do you think?
